Thermal scopes, market competition.

[sillbeam]

With many manufacturers offering equal,or better image quality and features than Pulsar, at greatly reduced cost, will Pulsar drop their prices to stay in the market ?
I can't see why someone would pay more for the same performance, other than being brand conscious.

Any thoughts??

 

[old keeper]

Without a doubt, Pulsar have been pioneers in the night vision market for years and had it very much their own way. I suppose you could say they almost had a monopoly. Now many others are dealing in the night vision world, some of them producing very good items at reasonable prices.
It's hard to see Pulsart producing something so much better than their competitors that would enable them to charge top dollar. I think they have been a bit complacent and have been overtaken by more market and technically savvy operators.

 

[villaman]

Had a few pulsar products over the years , starting with n550 and added a Sony doubler lens to it , what a great unit and paid for its self in rabbits and resale. Then moved on to n970 lrf with the doubler on , game changer again . I still have this set up now . To me after n970 lrf pulsar lost their way a bit with some of the other NV units they started comes out with
Then pard came out with 007, link that with a scope mounted range finder , imo game changer again . 008 & 008lrf blow the market apart with a light weight unit . Now we have the likes Arken Zulus , & Hik taking over and even thermtec are coming out with some good units , although haven’t look through them in the field , apart from the shooting show this year
Once again imo pulsar need to up their game !!

 

[Long drag]

I'm a big Pulsar fan, but what has been said is very true.
Pulsar build is excellent, and after sale repair is very good.

In my opinion they will dominate sales for the forseeable future, but yes times are a changing.

 

[sillbeam]

Thermtec thermal scopes seem to have great reviews and videos posted online show excellent image detail....the equivalent Pulsar unit is more than double the price and we're talking about thousands of pounds not tens !

 

[JH83]

I'm a big Pulsar fan, but what has been said is very true.
Pulsar build is excellent, and after sale repair is very good.

In my opinion they will dominate sales for the forseeable future, but yes times are a changing.

I believe HIK have already taken market position

It’s not surprising, their products are too keenly priced and well specced. They market hard too. Most folks have felt the pinch over the last few years so value for money is at a premium.

Possibly complacency, but more likely a much larger company deciding to dominate the market and pricing them out.

 

[sillbeam]

I believe HIK have already taken market position

It’s not surprising, their products are too keenly priced and well specced. They market hard too. Most folks have felt the pinch over the last few years so value for money is at a premium.

Possibly complacency, but more likely a much larger company deciding to dominate the market and pricing them out.

My limited, personal experience with Hik is, their stuff seems to have brighter imagery but thermal identification at greater distances ( more than 500yds) wasn't as good as like for like Pulsar, having tried them side by side for a night

 

[finnbear270]

The jury is still out deliberating here, Due to the hiatus regarding repairs / warranties, and up --- sorry downgrades in firmware.

 

[villaman]

Hik vision is the biggest surveillance company in the world remember

 

[sillbeam]

Hik vision is the biggest surveillance company in the world remember

That's quite worrying!!

 

[villaman]

Over a million cameras made by hik are installed in the uk . I know sunseeker used hik for the security cameras on the boats they build . I would say Hik are a bigger company than pulsar

 

[mealiejimmy]

HIK are bigger than Pulsar by an order of magnitude at least
Pulsar will not reduce their prices
Look at the C50 digital scope.
It was £950 when it first appeared and it's still £950, but in the interim it has been surpassed in performance and undercut in price by several other digital scopes - particularly the HIK Alpes and Arken/DNT Zulus
Pulsar have effectively got out of the low profit margin digital scope market to concentrate on thermal where profits are higher and they are now concentrating on high value products like the Telos spotters. Merger binoculars and Thermion scopes.
They will continue to do well enough with those products because they have built up a loyal customer base who are happy to pay a premium to get a product with the Pulsar badge on it - just like it is with Swaro/Zeiss/S&B scopes
Like those aforementioned scope brands, Pulsar products are well designed, well made and generally reliable - and for many people that is near the top of their list of requirements when making such an expensive purchase

Cheers

Bruce

 

[Dari]

Speaking of lowering the prices by Pulsar, I noticed that they recently lowered price for Krypton 2 XQ35 from 2590€ to 2090€ and for Krypton 2 XG50 from 3090€ to 2690€.

I also believe that Pulsar lost a lot of market share in 2022, when for some period it was very difficult to get their products.
Most likely they supported Ukraine and HIKMICRO used the chance to increase their presence at the market.

 

[finnbear270]

The longer Pulsar leave me hamstrung without the Mergers, will concentrate the mind when it comes time to move on.

 

[MrBaRnEs2u]

For me I will stick with pulsar for my spotting requirements but for nv digital scopes I am currently a hik user with 3x scopes on my guns.

 

[bryn]

I have a pulsar xq38 spotter bought with the help of Ed Brewshire when he used to do group buys before Edinburgh Rifles came into being, it’s still going strong, used 6/7 times a week, It’s 8 years old.

Bryn

 

[Heym SR20]

With these Electronic Scopes, just like Smart Phones etc you can be certain that what you buy now will be outclassed in the not too distant future.

But it will plateau. With smart phones, most I think now only get a new one when previous one gets completely worn out. There is not a lot of point in upgrading to next generation. Go back ten years ago and each generation was a huge step forward.

 

[Cyres]

Looking at the time and hassle it takes to get Pulsar kit repaired is a big issue. Like Brynn my XQ38 has been faultless and is used 5 x week.
There are lots of posts on here about the poor communicaion and lengthy wait times. Also the issues with cost of postage.
Worse still replacement or lone units appear difficult to obtain.
When my Leicas went back to Portugal despite being years out of warranty Leica provided all the pre paid return labels.
I see ATN promise 5 day turnarounds in UK and Hik have a UK repair point.
Point is your dealing with the manufacturer direct but with Pulsar you fldeal with TJ the middle man.
D

 

[MrBaRnEs2u]

It's the same with the Arken/DNT digital thermal scope(s) No UK based service/warranty centre so you are relying on the dealer that you purchased from to replace it, if they have them in stock, or ?

 

[calgeo]

I had the tricky decision last year of staying with Pulsar or trying out some of these newer cheaper brands. Even though it was more expensive I ended up staying with Pulsar. The reason being is I’ve still got the first of the Helions which is still going strong and my uncle has a Quantam which is still working. That for me has proven the longevity of Pulsar products. I don’t think Hik or other brands have been popular or available long enough to prove themselves yet. I also queried the Hik quality control when they released the Condor range with several issues.
Some others might be cheaper to purchase but if they last half as long does it really save much in the long run. By the time I make my next purchase in a few years I’ll maybe have changed my mind.